PHILADELPHIA, Pa. –  Freshman outside hitter Elyana Ortiz continued to step it up offensively for Post University Women's Volleyball in the absence of graduate outside hitter Kristina Peric, who missed her second consecutive match on Saturday afternoon, as the Eagles overcame a first-set loss to beat Jefferson University for the second consecutive time, in five sets, 3-2. Ortiz led the Eagles with 13 kills on 48 attempts with 10 errors, resulting in a . 063 attack percentage. 

THE BASICS

Post University 3, Jefferson University 2

Post University (16-3, 7-0 CACC)

Jefferson University (6-10, 2-5 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Graduate setter Alice DiFrancesco continued her double-double streak for Post, extending it to nine consecutive matches after having 34 assists and 13 digs, as well as three block assists and four kills on eight attempts. DiFrancesco sits just 100 assists away from reaching the 2,000 career mark between her time at AIC and now this year at Post, while senior libero Alyssa Groves continues to close in on Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference history for digs. Groves, who finished with a match-high 30 digs, is now just 220 digs away in her career from surpassing Chestnut Hill College's Regina Trabosh for the most digs in conference history at 2,533, which was set from 2013-16. 

For Jefferson, they were led by a steady diet of kills from freshman outside hitter Alexa Pomeroy and junior outside hitter Emily McKenna, as the duo combined for 39 kills on 104 attempts with only 11 errors along the way. McKenna finished with 23 kills and a .293 attack percentage, while Pomeroy had 16 kills for a .239 attack percentage, as they both had double-doubles with 11 and 12 digs, respectively. 

Not much back-and-forth would make up the entirety of the match as both sides worked to tie only 10 times, with five of them coming in the third set, as well as six lead changes, including none in the final two sets. After the Rams took a 3-0 lead in the fourth set, they would never look back, despite the Eagles tying it up at nine all as a 4-0 run started by a service error from junior outside hitter Vivien Andrea Fehervari, which helped give Jefferson enough breathing room to force a fifth set with a 25-21 victory. This came after the Eagles recovered from a 25-15 loss in the first set with wins in the second and third sets, 25-20 and 25-23. 

However, an attack error to lead off the fifth set by McKenna was the catalyst for a 6-0 run to start the frame by Post, as junior outside hitter Neeyah Shahid-Stevenson had two kills during the run that allowed the Eagles to pull away for good. Leading by as many as 10 points, that would end up being the final margin of victory when sophomore middle blocker Alani Duncan's match-ending kill sent Post to 7-0 in conference play with their 15-5 fifth set win.

The only other player to reach double-digit kills, junior middle blocker Nuri Shahid-Stevenson, finished with 11 kills and only three errors on 27 attempts to give her a .296 attack percentage, while she went off for one block solo and seven block assists. So far this season, she has 58 total blocks and seven block assists in two of her last three matches. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Sitting at 2,303 career digs after tonight's match, Alyssa Groves is only 220 digs away from surpassing Chestnut Hill College's Regina Trabosh for the most digs in CACC history, with 2,533 career digs from 2013-16
• Between her time at AIC and Post University, Alice DiFrancesco entered the match with 1,900 career assists, with 34 assists tonight, she moves to 100 assists away from 2,000 in her career
• After dropping nine consecutive matches to Jefferson University, Post University has won two consecutive matches against the Rams for the second time in program history, the first since their back-to-back wins in 2014 and 2015
• Winning in five sets today, Post University is now 6-2 overall this season when going into five sets and 2-0 against conference opponents in such scenarios

WHO'S NEXT
Post University plays seven of its next eight matches at home, starting on Thursday night against Southern Connecticut State University at 6:00 PM with its Dig Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Match. The Eagles swept the Owls for the first time since 2015 last year on the road, 3-0.